There has been an awful accident involving a well liked kiteboarder in Martin County. My sincere regrets go out to his family and friends for his loss. It is a tight community up there and this has to hit very hard.

A well experienced kiteboarder was attacked off Hutchenson Island at about 4:15 pm today. He was reportedly in the water off his board about 1/4 mile offshore and seen to be swimming into shore in an unguarded area. A commotion was seen in the water around the kiter and what may have been bull sharks attacked the kiter. A lifeguard responded and paddled out to the man who had suffered several bites. Sharks were reportedly still circling the man. He was brought back to the beach and first aid administered. He was taken to a nearby hospital about a mile away. Despite rapid medical care he passed away in hospital. Spinner sharks have been migrating through the area in large quantities in recent weeks however less common and more aggressive bull sharks may have been responsible for this grievous attack.

This is the first fatal shark attack that I have heard of on a kiteboarder worldwide. There have been six other attacks that I have heard of that usually were "minor" in nature over the last ten years worldwide.

Steve Schafer RIPExact details unknown - sharks have been abundant - no one else out [on water] at the time - kite went down - Guards stated he was swimming towards kite - then not swimming - water discolored - Guard scrambled paddle board - he was conscious to beach apparently; blood loss, CPR [failed] - passed either in-route or at hospital...Local community is REALLY stunned & down - he was the last person anyone would have wanted to see go...miss you already, so sad...

A TV interview with the lifeguard, Dan Lund that swam out to Steve Schafer and brought him to shore. Lund, a nine year lifegard with Martin County, had a serious shark bite himself 20 years ago. The newscast says Lund saw a kiter about 500 yards offshore lying on his kite. Lund paddled out to investigate. He say that Steve was lying on his kite, who yelled to Lund that he had been bitten by a shark. Lund saw Steve was injured and bleeding with sharks circling beneath the surface. He went into the water and over to the kite, carried Steve over to his rescue board, put him on it and paddled him back to shore in 4 to 6 ft. seas.

Dr. Burgess of director of the International Shark Attack File at the Florida Museum of Natural History was asked to examine the wounds of the shark attack. He is an expert in this field maintaining the global database of shark attacks. I spoke to him yesterday prior to his attending the post mortem by phone. He speculated it was less likely spinner sharks were responsible for the initial attack but more probably a larger shark such as a bull shark. Spinners may hit humans by accident but usually move on after limited interaction. Spinners are preyed up on these same larger sharks during the seasonal migration.

In the article below, it is stated "The shark that killed a kiteboarder off Stuart this week was an 8- or 9-foot shark in the requiem family, a group which includes bull sharks and tiger sharks, a shark attack expert (Burgess), who examined the body said Thursday evening."

It goes on to say; "Blacktip and spinner sharks, also members of the requiem family, are responsible for many attacks, but those are generally just single bites by a shark that thinks a hand or foot is a fish. Bull sharks and tigers are known killers, and along with great whites, are "the primary attackers of man," according to the International Shark Attack File. There had been speculation that a great white had been the attacker, but Burgess said his examination definitively ruled out that species."

This opinion discounts what some thought was a weakly supported claim that white sharks may have responsible for the attack.

The article also states; "Schafer's death was a rare event in a state where shark attacks often are minor lacerations caused by small sharks. Worldwide about 8 percent of shark attacks result in death, but in Florida about 1 percent are fatal, according to the International Shark Attack File's statistics."

"Expert suspects tiger or bull sharks killed kiteboarder

By David Fleshler, Sun Sentinel8:54 p.m. EST, February 4, 2010

STUART - The shark that killed a kiteboarder off Stuart this week was an 8- or 9-foot shark in the requiem family, a group which includes bull sharks and tiger sharks, a shark attack expert who examined the body said Thursday evening.

Two bite wounds on the thigh caused the death of Stephen Howard Schafer, victim of the first fatal shark attack in Florida since 2005, said George Burgess, director of the International Shark Attack File at the Florida Museum of Natural History. Burgess drove to the medical examiner's office in Fort Pierce on Thursday to examine the body.

Blacktip and spinner sharks, also members of the requiem family, are responsible for many attacks, but those are generally just single bites by a shark that thinks a hand or foot is a fish. Bull sharks and tigers are known killers, and along with great whites, are "the primary attackers of man," according to the International Shark Attack File. There had been speculation that a great white had been the attacker, but Burgess said his examination definitively ruled out that species.

About 4 p.m. Wednesday lifeguard Daniel Lund peered through binoculars and saw Schafer lying on his board about a quarter-mile offshore, officials said. When Lund paddled out, he saw blood in the water and Schafer screamed "I've been bitten by a shark," according to an interview Lund gave to WPTV-Ch. 5.

Lund held Schafer on his rescue board with one arm and paddled to shore with the other, as sharks circled.

"It's not like the dorsal fins come out of the water like you see … in the movies," he told the television station. "They generally kinda cruise through the waves, and you can see the shadows going underneath and so on, so you know they're there."

A report by the Martin County Sheriff's Office said Schafer had suffered an 8- to 10-inch bite on the thigh, bites on the buttocks and apparent defensive wounds on the right hand.

More than 100 sharks were seen in the ocean off Reef Road in Palm Beach on Thursday morning, prompting lifeguards to monitor the beaches to see if any should be closed, WPTV-Ch. 5 reports.

Last week, beaches were closed for three days on Singer Island because of shark sightings. Hammerheads, spinners, reef and bull sharks are common off South Florida this time of year, when they follow schools of migrating fish."

Dr. Linda O’Neil, associate medical examiner for the District 19 Medical Examiner’s Office at Indian River State College in Fort Pierce, said the autopsy she conducted Thursday afternoon revealed the cause of death was “exsanguination, or loss of blood, due to shark bites.”

O’Neil said Schafer suffered “two shark bites, one more serious than the other. The more serious was on the back of his right thigh. It was from 9 to 10 inches long and very deep. In fact, one of the teeth hit the bone.”

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